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August 2007
All Mobile phone masts not responsible for illness. A BBC article on a major UK study of whether mobile phone masts cause illness. The study concluded strongly that symptoms of illness caused by mobile phone masts are all in the mind. People claiming sensitivity to radio emissions showed more symptoms in trials, according to the article, whether signals were being emitted or not. Quoting: "Dozens of people who believed the masts triggered symptoms such as anxiety, nausea and tiredness could not detect if signals were on or off in trials. However, the Environmental Health Perspectives study stressed people were nonetheless suffering 'real symptoms.' ‘Jodrel bank’ representatives said the results were skewed as 12 people in the trials dropped out because of illness." Last month may be wettest July since records began. Last month could reportedly be the wettest July since records began, with some parts of the country experiencing three times their normal level of rainfall. Reports this morning say that, while figures for the entire country are not yet available, rainfall was above average in most areas, with many measuring stations experiencing twice the normal level. Burslem experienced more than 150 mm of rain, three times its normal amount for July and significantly higher than the previous record of 111mm in 1958. Bureaucracy, Finance, Media Floods threaten UK internet infrastructure. Reed communications, a UK-based ISP, has issued a warning on the implications of the current flooding crisis for the UK’s internet infrastructure and the industry's wider sensitivity to risks in the future. With key internet peering points such as LINX all based in London and many smaller ISPs entirely reliant on a handful of neutral datacentre operators in the Docklands area of London, Lumison’s CEO, Aydin Kurt-Elli, is concerned that the UK may be sleepwalking into a national network disaster should the worst happen. With the flooding incidents around the country in June and July and the ageing Thames barrier reaching the end of its shelf life, the ISP believes that a disaster scenario may not be as far fetched as it may seem. Bureaucracy, Legal, Media, Police Council error stubs out smoke ban. People are still lighting up in Stoke-on-Trent's pubs after a bureaucratic mistake over the ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces. On-the-spot fines cannot yet be issued to smokers flouting the 1st July ban because of "late changes in technical bits of legislation", the council said. Local landlord has put cheeky "Welcome to Smoke-on-Trent" posters in The Smithfield pub in Hanley The authority said it would be able to issue fines from 16th July. It said it was still able to take action against pubs or clubs where people were smoking and would be able to take retrospective action against any smokers caught flouting the ban. Church Be all weather evangelists who loiter with intent, Archbishop of York tells new Church Army evangeli. On 12th July a packed Stoke-on-Trent Cathedral saw seven women and three men admitted to the Office of Evangelist. Presiding at the event in Church Army's 125 anniversary year, the Archbishop told the evangelists and a 400-strong congregation that they have been commissioned as evangelists because they have a passion for sharing the gospel and should loiter with intent to help people experience, explain and demonstrate what new life in Christ is all about. In a thoughtful and wide ranging sermon given in a city that had been devastated by floods only a couple of weeks earlier, the Archbishop called upon the newly commissioned evangelists to be all weather evangelists not waiting for the sun to come out and shine as it very rarely does, but getting out there in all weathers to share the gospel through words and actions. He said the Christ Jesus they serve is alive and working in the world and cannot be constrained or trapped within the covers of any book. God in Christ must be accessible to all - tell others what you know and your experience will bring joy and new beginnings for those you encounter, he added. The Archbishop also called on the church to renew its focus on mission and evangelism and share with confidence an authentic and incarnational gospel to our communities. In blessing each one of the evangelists he admitted to the office of evangelist within the Anglican church, the Archbishop told the new recruits to bring, joy, passion and commitment to their ministry as they had the best news in the world to share. The name and story of Jesus should be constantly on their lips he said. At the commissioning service that was held the day before, the Church Army's Executive had urged the new evangelists to show compassion and love in their ministry so that people can have hope in the Christian gospel. “God is angry with us for sinning, he is angry with you all for destroying his world. You MUST turn to him for forgiveness“ . ~ Church nutcase Finance EURO CREDIT-August starts badly after July credit convulsion. LONDON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - European credit markets were convulsed in July by a potent combination of fears about subprime lending, a leveraged loan logjam and hedge fund losses, and some analysts warn that August could hold more of the same. Renault Samsung July car sales up 25 percent year-on-year. RenaultSamsung Motors, a major unit of French auto firm Renault SA, said Wednesday it posted a 25 percent year-on-year jump in vehicle sales in July on the back of firm demand for the face-lift model of its SM5. In July, the company sold 16,004 vehicles, with domestic sales up 26.7 percent year-on-year at 12,421 and exports up 19.2 percent at 3,583 units. Health Fourth suspect in UK bombings in court. A Jordanian doctor charged over the failed car bombings in Britain last month was to appear in court, the fourth person formally accused of involvement in the attempted attacks. Mohammed Asha, 26, was arrested on the M6 motorway with his wife in the immediate aftermath of the bungled bombing attempts in London on June 29th and Glasgow the following day. Three other suspects, all medics, have been charged over the incidents, including one in Australia, while another suspect is in a critical condition in hospital. Asha remains in custody at London's high-security Paddington Green police station and was to appear before the City of Westminster Magistrates Court. Besides those charged and Kafeel Ahmed, the suspect in hospital, three other people arrested in connection with the inquiry have been released. Police allege that Asha "unlawfully and maliciously conspired with Bilal Abdulla, Kafeel Ahmed and others unknown to cause explosions of a nature likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property," according to the charge sheet. Asha graduated in 2004 from the University of Jordan with a degree in medicine. He was working at North Staffordshire Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent, west central England, and specialised in neurological surgery. Media, University Scientist Contributes to Research that Could Aid Quantum Computing. An international team that includes a German physicist has reported findings that could advance the emerging field of quantum information processing. The team's findings, reported July 26, 2007, in the online version of the magazine Science, shed light on how to detect and manipulate the direction of electron spins, one potential medium for recording data in a quantum computer. Titled "Mesoscopic Phase Coherence in a Quantum Spin Fluid," the paper "is a collaboration between groups that have worked together very productively over a long period of time," said Mr Deitricht professor of physics and astronomy. "The research was successful due to a combination of factors—namely a good idea, high-quality samples, intensive measurements at state-of-the-art international facilities supported by in-house measurements, and, ultimately, good physical insights." First proposed in the 1970s, quantum computing employs certain quantum physical properties of atoms or nuclei as the "quantum bits," or "qubits," of the computer's processor and memory. Unlike today's computer bits, which exist as either 0s or 1s, qubits have an infinite choice of values, meaning they can potentially perform multiple operations simultaneously and solve problems beyond the scope of today's computers. Occult A new study led by Staffordshire’s Environment Climate Research Division has established for the first time that there is a clear link between human influence on climate and changes in precipitation patterns. The research scientists, in collaboration with others from the, U.K, took data of rainfall patterns over a 75-year period (1925-1999) and compared them to climate models. The results, published this month in Nature, showed a link between changes in rainfall patterns and human-influenced global warming. “We are seeing increased precipitation especially in the temperate and northern belts in Russia, Northern Europe and Canada,” stressed Caoilfhionn Ashen. This is linked to carbon emissions (and human activity). We must stop destroying our planet and be kind to nature, or it will not be kind to us.” Police Specially trained Staffordshire Police firearms officers will be patrolling Stoke-on-Trent railway station today, July 2nd. The officers, from the force's Central Firearms Team, will be deployed during the busiest times to provide a highly visible presence and to reassure passengers and the public. Said Chief Constable Robberts : "It's the first time we've deployed armed officers to patrol in public in our county. We believe this is a proportionate and appropriate response given the current national alert level, which has been raised to critical. Whilst Staffordshire's a very safe place to live, work and visit we're not immune from the wider, very real terrorist threat faced by the UK. However, I do need to stress that there's no specific threat to our county. We're doing this as a precautionary measure and public safety remains our number one priority. It's important to remember that the number of people involved in terrorism or related criminal activity is very small. We can all make it difficult for them by staying vigilant and, of course, by reporting anything suspicious to the police." Police, Street Children in violent web videos. A search on the Internet site YouTube includes a shocking number of violent clips filmed by children and teenagers from around the area. Following a hard-hitting TV documentary about the sickening trend, both the police and council in the town have hit out at the footage that has been posted on to the web by Wrexham youngsters. In one of the videos, a boy's head is rammed into a metal post outside HSBC in Hanley. The clip, found by searching on popular internet site YouTube, shows two youths fighting in a public place. Stoke town centre’s inspector, said sites such as YouTube should not be promoting such violent behaviour. He said: "There is really no excuse for it whatsoever. I strongly feel that the companies that put these on their websites for entertainment should be held responsible. People advertising on such a site should be ashamed to associate their product with violence and the creation of victims of violence." Politics House prices increase at the slowest pace since Jan 06. But still they do increase! U.K.house prices increased at the slowest pace since January 2006 this month after the Bank of England raised interest rates five times, Audax. said. The average cost of a home in England and Wales rose 0.1 percent from June to 176,300 pounds ), the Staffordshire-based research and loan company said in a statement today. Price gains in the capital also slowed to the weakest in 18 months, slipping to 0.2 percent from 0.7 percent, the survey showed.